1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a multi-way flashing control box for light-emitting diode (LED) lamp strings, more particularly to a multi-way flashing control box having circuit protection members that are easy to replace.
2. Description of the Related Art
In a festival or an occasion requiring a cheerful atmosphere, such as Christmas time, a lamp string is wound on an object to be decorated, such as a Christmas tree, to provide illumination during the night. To enhance the illumination effect, a control box is provided to control sequential flashing of differently colored lamp strings.
At present, light-emitting diodes (LEDs) are widely used to replace tungsten filament light bulbs in lamp string applications. For a light-emitting diode, the operating voltage and rated current value thereof are related to the color of the light emitted thereby. For instance, light-emitting diodes that radiate red, yellow or orange light have an operating voltage range of 1.8 to 2.2 volts, whereas light-emitting diodes that radiate blue, green or white light have an operating voltage range of 3.1 to 3.3 volts. Therefore, lamp strings formed from different colors of light-emitting diodes have different operating voltage and rated current requirements.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, each LED lamp string has a cord 11 fixed to a corresponding string contact 121 of an inner cap member 12 of a conventional multi-way flashing control box 2 by direct soldering (only the connection between one cord 11 and the corresponding string contact 121 is shown in FIG. 2). The string contacts 121 are also connected electrically to a circuit board 13 that is responsible for activating and deactivating the lamp strings. Since LED lamp strings can have different rated current values, the conventional multi-way flashing control box 2 includes circuit protection members (such as resistors) respectively connected in series to the lamp strings. The resistances of the circuit protection members are chosen according to the rated current values in order to protect the lamp strings from damage due to excessive electric currents. However, whenever the number of diodes or the color of a target lamp string is changed, the corresponding circuit protection member must be changed as well. There is thus a need in the art to provide a multi-way flashing control box that enables manufacturers to replace circuit protection members with relative ease so as to suit target lamp strings that are to be controlled by the multi-way flashing control box.